Skyview off and running with Run-A-Ree win

To bring his cross country times down, Mason Scheidel traveled up.

After placing 23rd at last year’s 4A state meet, the Skyview senior spent the summer running harder and longer than he had before. That included a trip to a cross country camp at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Those lung-busting workouts at 6,000 feet paid off Friday. Scheidel pulled away from teammate Zeke Oien to win the 55th annual Steve Maas Run-A-Ree at Hudson’s Bay.

Scheidel covered the 5,000-meter course in 16 minutes, 39 seconds on a 90-degree afternoon. Oien was eight seconds behind after being even with his teammate with a half-mile to go.

“Today was hot and the times were slow,” Scheidel said. “But I definitely felt that little bit extra to keep going.”

Skyview placed its top five runners in the top 20 to win the boys competition with 38 points, besting 16 other teams.

After winning the 4A district title and placing fourth at the 4A state meet, the Storm hope that depth sustains them this season.

“Last year we were really top-heavy,” Scheidel said. “We had a lot of fast guys at the top. This year, our strength is really in the fifth, sixth and seventh guys.”

Union senior Cassie McKinney won the girls race in 20:03. Unlike Scheidel in the boys race, McKinney ran alone in the lead for much of the race.

McKinney, who placed seventh at last year’s 4A district meet, finished 39 seconds ahead of Skyview sophomore Ellen Burbank.

“I wanted to stay with the girls for the first mile and not go out too fast,” McKinney said. “After that mile, I wanted to just start racing.”

Skyview won the girls team title with 40 points, two better than Union.

CROSS COUNTRY STORYLINES FOR 2015

Dynasty in Camas: The Papermakers girls team has won state championships three of the past four years. There are no signs of slowing down. Sophomore Emma Jenkins finished fourth in state last year while sophomore Emily Wilson placed 11th.

Fast freshmen: The Papermakers also added speedy freshman Rachel Blair, who finished ninth in the Junior Olympic Cross Country Nationals in December. On the boys side, freshman Daniel Maton moved to Camas from Bend, Ore. He finished third at the Nike Future Clash 2K race last year and is the younger brother of Matthew Maton, who ran a sub-four-minute mile as a high school senior this spring.

Strong Storm: Skyview returns three of its top four runners from last year’s boys team that finished fourth in state. Junior Chanse Gilbert finished seventh in state and was the 4A district runner-up. Mason Scheidel is the senior leader, having placed 23rd at state. Zeke Oien is also at the front of the Skyview pack, having placed 40th at state. Skyview and Camas, which is led by junior Yacine Guermali, should be the top contenders for the district title.

Small-school speed: Ridgefield junior Silas Griffith is the top runner among local small school athletes. He placed 16th in last year’s 2A state meet, then followed it up by placing fifth in the 3,200 meters at the state track championships. Washougal junior Courtney Owens is looking to build on her 26th-place finish in the 2A state meet.